Rest, Digest & Receive

Sometimes you plan out a whole day, then wake up and realize it’s just not going to happen. That happened to me yesterday. I planned to get up early and read through some books to write a blog post for this week. Instead, I felt a strong call to rest, and chose to sleep in. My cat had other ideas, but that’s another story.

Two years ago I would have chastised myself and felt bad about putting my self-care first. Now, I surrender to it as part of the journey. Without rest, we cannot digest. And, there is much to digest: emotional, physical and metaphysical or spiritual changes occur as we evolve and shift our perspectives. It is a constant life long process. We often get caught up in day-to-day life, and don’t realize how much we are doing. Until my mom came to visit recently, I didn’t realize how busy I was.

Currently, I have a lot of pokers stoking the fire: loan debt from school, connecting and collaborating with like minded individuals, finances, service to others, blogging, promoting myself, being authentic, obtaining photographs/videos of my work, and social media engagement to name a few. Though it keeps me busy, I am grateful it doesn’t feel like work. I am also grateful that I have a spiritual practice that helps me to maintain a state of ease.

So I took the day to rest. In the past, when I avoided this need, it created a greater state of dis-ease because I didn’t have the capacity to be with the present moment. This simple action allowed me to be present and mindful that my actions were being carried out from a place of spiritual consciousness. Though I did less, I received so much more as a result. I spent time at Barton Springs, basking in the warm sunshine and receiving vital energy from the sun itself. While there, I turned my phone off for an hour; something I make a conscious effort to do daily. Because I rested, new connections were made, opportunities arose and creative inspiration was received. It’s easy to miss these connections and opportunities when we don’t rest. Resting allows space to receive.

When I finally sat down to write this post last night, it was at a local cat café where you can sip on a cup of tea and “work” while felines romp around and play. If you have a bag of treats, you are the equivalent of a can of tuna fish. Of all creatures, cats are great teachers of being present – always. So, needless to say, to finish this post I had to come home. My cat sits peacefully by my side as I do so, reminding me that it is time for bed.